Morris County corrections officer pleads guilty to sexual assault

Robert Sciarrino/The Star-LedgerLon Sainato, right, 54, of Whippany, a former Morris County corrections officer charged with sexually assaulting a man while supervising his community service pleads guilty in Superior Court in Morristown on second-degree charges of sexual assault and official misconduct.
HANOVER -- A Morris County corrections officer pleaded guilty today to sexually assaulting a man while supervising his community service last year.

Lon Sainato, 54, of Whippany, also pleaded guilty in Superior Court in Morristown to official misconduct, and now faces a sentence of five to seven years in prison. He must forfeit his sheriff’s office job and pension and cannot hold a public job in the state again. He agreed not to seek an expungement.

Sainato admitted assaulting the man on Feb. 22, 2009, at the Cedar Knolls Firehouse in Hanover, where Sainato was supervising him and other Sheriff’s Labor Assistance Program defendants taken there to paint.

Each second-degree crime is punishable by five to 10 years in prison, and the official-misconduct charge carries a mandatory minimum of five years before parole eligibility. Under the plea, Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Melanie Smith will seek a sentence of seven years on the sex assault, to run concurrent with the official misconduct; while defense attorney Peter Gilbreth will argue for a sentence of five years.

"This defendant took advantage of his position in law enforcement and will now pay a heavy price, as he will not be eligible for parole until he serves a minimum term of five years in state prison," Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi said in a statement. "While it is always a sad day when a law enforcement officer violates their oath to lawfully serve the citizens, it is also important to know that when crimes are committed by those government officials that they will be treated with the seriousness and care with which this case was."

After his March 1, 2009 arrest, Sainato admitted to police he committed the crime and was recorded by authorities telling the victim "what happened last week never happened," court documents stated.

The name of the 30-year-old victim has not been released. After telling the victim he was a "swinger," Sainato directed the man to go to an upstairs room, where the assault took place, an affidavit stated. The victim did not run away because he feared getting shot by the officer, and also did not resist because he feared he would be charged with assaulting an officer, an affidavit said.

Sainato also had the victim take photos of the sex act with the officer’s cell phone, the affidavit said.

While Sainato remains free on $150,000 bail pending an April 9 sentencing, Judge David Ironson set strict bail-monitoring conditions. Sainato was ordered to report to probation in person weekly and by phone daily; have no contact with the victim or current or past SLAP members; surrender his passport, firearms and firearms ID card; undergo random urine monitoring; and remain in the state and crime free.